SOYUZ: AFTER THE MOON
RACE

The
Soyuz ("Union") has been in use longer than any other manned
spacecraft. Designed during the race to the Moon in the 1960s, it
first carried a cosmonaut into space in April 1967. Since then the
Soyuz and its subsequent generations--the Soyuz T and Soyuz TM--have
flown scores of manned missions in Earth orbit. Soyuz has been the
workhorse of the Soviet and Russian space programs.

More
than 100 cosmonauts have flown in the Soyuz on a variety of Earth-orbiting
missions since 1967. Modifications have made the spacecraft more
efficient and reliable, but the basic structure remains the same.

SOYUZ
DESIGN AND MISSION

The
Soyuz spacecraft has three main components. The large spherical
section at the front is the orbital module. The landing module is
the bell-shaped section in the middle. The cylindrical section at
the rear is the instrument module.

Used for
storage during launch and as a workshop-living area for the cosmonauts
during flight.

Crew cabin
used during launch and re-entry, the only part of Soyuz that returns
to Earth.

Contains
the main spacecraft systems, including propulsion, heating, cooling,
and communications.

Provide electric
power for Soyuz.

To prepare for linking
spacecraft into larger structures and transferring crews from shuttle-craft
to space stations, the Soviets worked on rendezvous and docking in
multiple-craft Soyuz missions, testing both automatic and manual control.
Since 1967 there have been five major docking system designs. Engineers
modified the Soyuz docking devices over the years to improve efficiency
and to match the specific mission of each spacecraft.